My two siblings and I were removed from our home by the state of New York in 1967 and were shipped off to a foster home. My mother died when I was seven years old, while I was in foster care.

In 1999 I found my mom through a social security check. I paid a detective a hundred dollars and he broke the bad news to me that she had died. I live in Boynton beach, FL, Palm Beach County. On Mothers Day, 1999, I drove to St. Petersburg, FL, where my mom had lived, and found her last residence. I took my four-year-old daughter with me. When I saw the house, I experienced a strange feeling of peace that emanated from the place. I took a picture of the house. Weeks later I had the film developed, and in the top window, her room, strange enough, there is a silhouette of what appears to be an angel. It has boggled my mind for years. I spoke to the landlord, and she recalled how my mother had suffered from losing her children. She died of a heart attack.

I now have a five-month-old baby who resembles my mom exactly. I am 42 years old and firmly believe my baby girl is my mom who has come back. My mother's name was Barbara Ann. After much deliberation, we decided that our baby daughter's name should be Brianna - B for Barbara and Anna for Ann. Every time I look at her, she smiles, but when I call her "Mom," she cries. Weird!

My wife has had a heart condition and neurological problems since 2001. Doctors told her she could never have another baby because it would endanger her life. Unexpectedly, she became pregnant and went into a deep depression thinking she would die. But she survived the birth. And when the baby was born on October 19, 2006, I immediately saw my mom in her eyes and smile.

Frank Rivera
partsbase@gmail.com

Posted April 13, 2007